Determining Whether Older Adults Use Similar Strategies to Young Adults in Theory of Mind Tasks.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Theory of mind-the ability to infer others' mental states-declines over the life span, potentially due to cognitive decline. However, it is unclear whether deficits emerge because older adults use the same strategies as young adults, albeit less effectively, or use different or no strategies. The current study compared the similarity of older adults' theory of mind errors to young adults' and a random model.

Methods

One hundred twenty older adults (MAge = 74.68 years; 64 female) and 111 young adults (MAge = 19.1; 61 female) completed a novel theory of mind task (clips from an episode of the sitcom The Office®), and a standard measure of cognitive function (Logical Memory II). Monte Carlo resampling estimated the likelihood that older adults' error patterns were mo

SUBMITTER: Krendl AC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10214651 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature